Ways of Seeing: Phoneography

When: July 6-31 2012

The amateur photographer has taken the spotlight with the popularity of smartphone photos, which can be easily edited with apps and posted online. Local gallery owner Rebekah Jacob read about New York galleries that organized shows based around social media and decided to host Phoneography, an exhibit made up of about 200 photos taken and edited on smartphones. She received more than 1,000 submissions from all over the world, including countries like Jamaica and India. “I was surprised at the quality of work created from a smartphone,” Jacob says. The submissions were divided into two groups: the first from artists they contacted to be a part of the show, like Marni Rothschild and Jane Harper Hicklin, and the second from the public. “There are a lot of amateurs, emerging artists, and professionals we didn’t know.” Jacob also says that allowing artists to use any editing tool on the phone has made the show more versatile. “It’s really amazing to see what people are photographing, what app they are using, and how they translate it to print,” she adds. Each photo will be for sale for $200.